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# Improved offensive flow for James River comes to pass against Monacan
- URL: https://www.richmonder.org/improved-offensive-flow-for-james-river-comes-to-pass/
- Published: 2026-09-19T04:06:03.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-19T04:42:50.000Z
- Description: Rapids' aerial attack takes off behind the play of quarterback Mayfield
- Author: Jonathan Howard
- Tags: Sports

For two weeks, James River sputtered and struggled to find its footing on offense. The Rapids scored just six points in a win over Cosby two weeks ago and was shut out by Manchester last week.

“A game like last week where you don’t score, you go back to the basics,” James River head coach Bryan Jennings said. “You try to figure out what you didn’t do well and try to figure out how we can make it better.”

Friday night against visiting Monacan, Jennings’ team figured it out. Senior quarterback Donovan Mayfield threw for a career-high 295 yards and four touchdowns to lead James River to a 35-14 victory. Three of those touchdown passes were to Ryan Turner, who finished with four catches for 167 yards.

“Last week – we just had to turn our heads from that,” Mayfield said. “We had a bad week. We got to work at practice, it was a new week, and we came out here and showed it.”

The Rapids’ passing game was the highlight, but the contest began with both teams trying to establish themselves on the ground. 

James River (3-1) relied on Shamar Bridgeforth heavily in its first two drives in an attempt to soften up the defense of Monacan (0-4). The running back had six carries in James River’s first two drives before the playcalling began to shift and Mayfield got to work. 

A 20-yard slant to Nate Broocke set up the Rapids close to the Chiefs’ red zone with the first quarter winding down. Two plays later, Mayfield found Turner open down the right sideline for a 21-yard strike in the front corner of the end zone to put James River ahead 7-0.

“It just makes it 100 times easier when I can just catch the ball and just stride out for a touchdown. I love Don. He throws good balls, good placement, all that,” Turner said.

After Monacan’s defense forced a three-and-out, Mayfield immediately got back to work, finding Broocke streaking down the sideline for a 38-yard gain into the Chiefs’ red zone. The Rapids then took a step back as back-to-back penalties and a long sack left the home team with a third and 42\. Unfazed, Mayfield found Broocke for a screen pass that the senior took 48 yards into the end zone to put James River up 14-0\. 

Broocke, who finished with three catches for 106 yards, was happy with his ability to connect with Mayfield on multiple occasions on the night.

“This entire year I’ve had a lot of targets, but I haven’t been able to bring them in because the defense is good or getting good pressure,” Broocke said. “I’m glad I finally got an opportunity today to go get that ball.”

Mayfield found Turner one more time before the half, connecting with his receiver on a deep slant in which Turner found himself open by several steps. The result was a 75-yard touchdown and a 21-0 lead heading into halftime.

After the break, James River kept the pressure on, turning a bad punt snap from Monacan into Turner’s third touchdown reception, a 14-yard slant. And while the Chiefs finally answered with a score of their own – a 95-yard kickoff return from senior running back Jeremiah Singleton, the Rapids slammed the door on any building momentum with a touchdown run from Reed Creech and an interception by Landon Shaffer.

“It was all we talked about (in the locker room),” Mayfield said. “We didn’t want to lay down, think the score was good enough and let them get going to get any sort of momentum to score and come back. We set the tone early.”

Monacan tacked on a rushing touchdown just before time expired to bring the game to its final score. Mayfield’s impressive performance came while completing just nine passes in 11 attempts. Jennings felt it was only a matter of time before his quarterback broke out with a solid showing.

“The kid already had confidence. He’s learning how to play quarterback. His decision making is getting better,” Jennings said. “It was already in him, it was just a matter of grasping some things, understanding what teams are trying to do and taking advantage of what they give you, and that’s what he did.”

Singleton paced Monacan’s offensive attack, finishing with 62 yards rushing as well as a reception for 11 yards in addition to his kick return for a TD. 

The game was the first as head coach for Monacan's Dylan Culpen, who stepped in on interim basis after the school parted ways with Justin Akers. Monacan forfeited last week's game against L.C. Bird while the coaching situation was resolved.